Two people were killed and one person on the ground was wounded after a small aircraft crashed down on a highway in southeastern Massachusetts on Monday, amid a powerful nor’easter.
The plane went down around 8:15 a.m. EDT on a grassy median on Interstate 195 in Dartmouth, Mass (Dartmouth is about 57 miles south of Boston and 28 miles southeast of Providence, R.I.) Video shared by witnesses on social media showed the wreckage engulfed in fire as emergency crews rushed to the scene. Police cruisers, fire trucks, and ambulances lined the highway as responders battled the blaze.
According to Massachusetts State Police, the frixed-wing plane caught fire after impact, sending flames and thick smoke into the air. The police said in a statement that “preliminary information indicates the plane may have been attempting to land at New Bedford Regional Airport, though it does not appear that the pilot provided the airport with a flight plan or the number of souls aboard the aircraft. There is no information immediately available about the identity of the pilot or passengers, the circumstances of the crash, or the timing of the roadway reopening to normal traffic.” As of 10:25 a.m., both directions of I-195 were closed between Exits 19 and 22 to allow emergency crews to secure the area, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Authorities later confirmed that both individuals aboard the aircraft died at the scene. The person on the ground was taken to the hospital, though officials have not released details on the extent of their injuries. That individual was taken to a nearby hospital in a passenger vehicle, police said.
The accident unfolded as a strong coastal storm lashed Massachusetts and the greater Mid-Atlantic region with fierce winds and heavy rain. It is not yet known whether weather conditions contributed to the crash. According to the National Weather Service office in Boston, the nor’easter is bringing gusty winds, periods of torrential rain, and minor coastal flooding into Monday night. Lighter rain and winds were expected to continue into Tuesday, October 14.
A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the crash, saying a Socata TBM-700 had departed from the New Bedford airport. At New Bedford Regional Airport, wind speeds exceeded 30 mph late Sunday morning, according to the NWS. Flight tracking site FlightAware reported delays at Boston Logan International Airport around 11 a.m. due to low visibility. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to lead an investigation into the cause of the crash. FlightAware data showed that only about a dozen flights were scheduled at New Bedford Regional Airport on Sunday, most of which appeared to be operating normally,
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